{days ten & eleven}

SATURDAY

well, as you guess it, i had another day full of adventure and fun! today was an educational day as i like to call them. this morning we when to the kunsthistorisches (koonst-his-tor-shes) museum! i got of the u-bahn and couldn't find my way and didn't know how to pronounce the museum so i didn't want to ask anyone for help! finally, after the directions of a german fellow and my class mates i found it!

she's a beauty, yeah?

we kicked off our museum visit with the egyptian exhibits. there were endless rooms filled with ancient artifacts, sculptures, and tombs. it was so awesome! it takes you back to the time when these things actually existed. i decided i would someday like to be an egyptian princess.

i'd say i fit in quite nicely, wouldn't you?

this is what i would look like if i was an actual egyptian princess i think.

alright, get this! they used to "store" valuable written work, such as poetry, in alligators! they once found an alligator stuffed full of Sappho's poetry. we use libraries, they use alligators. yet another reason i want to be egyptian.

well, i don't know if you know this but i'm my grandma's favorite grandchild. (sorry if this comes as a shock to any of you dear sweet cousins of mine, but you should've seen it coming.) anyway, my grandma has the cutest knack of collecting hippopotamuses! they are her favorite animal. when i saw this i immediately thought of you grandma! i wish i could have taken it home with me to bring back to utah for your collection. i think it'd look quite nice on your mantel! 

if this is just the foot of a statue, can you imagine how big the actual statue must have been?

i dare say  humungous. 

me and paige goin' all egyptian on errbody.

voldymort, voldymort, oh voldy voldy voldy voldymort!

guardians of Kuhmunrah

night at the museum, battle of the smithsonian? anyone?

after spending a few hours in the egyptian exhibit, the art took a slight turn into the greek era! ahhhhhh i love their art. it was so incredible. the sculpting and artistry of the time is so awe-inspiring. i can't believe the talent that was so prominent in that day. 

me being a famous statue.

a shweet mosaic depicting the story of theseus and ariadne

a cool head! this place was filled with them, it was fabulous.

as we were wondering around the museum, i was almost as enthralled by the architecture as i was by the art. i figured this museum had once been a palace and later turned into a museum, as the louvre was. i asked one of the museum workers dallying in the halls what the story was. he told me that it was built as a museum and has always been a museum! he told me that the walls and rooms were all decorated particularly for the type of art that was displayed. this is one of the greek art rooms. isn't it stunning? the egyptians rooms followed suite, of course. i thought it was fascinating how timeless this museum was. 

and then we came across this. best piece of artwork ever! 

well, there was four of them and four of us so we put two and two together and...

voila! a masterpiece. 

oh just some more heads and mine.

the sculptures were enchanting in that era but the painting... now that's another story.

man or woman?

i'll let you decide.

grand staircase leading up to more and more exhibits!

alexa.paige.me&keily.

look at all the beauty they put into the design of museums!

amazing.

well, after spending a good 3-4 hours in the egyptian and greek exhibits alone, we decided to call it quits for the day (we get in free with our 'museum passes' our school gave us) we decided to catch a breath of fresh air! and boy were we regretting that after we stepped outside. it was sooo cold! but we needed to finish one of our walking tours for our class so we faced the blistering winds. we found some pretty neat facts along the way and by the end my brain was frozen solid so i'm sure it held all my knowledge in there nice and tight!

so next to llamas and trixi, moose are my favorite animals. i have a moose t-shirt, a moose sweatshirt, and today i saw my host mom has a moose mug! while on the tour i came across this little goody to add to my moose collection!

this is a turkish cannonball left over from their invasion

this is the oldest church in vienna! it dates back to the 11th century. i get to go inside on tuesday for my fine arts class and i can't wait! you can't tell in the picture, but the church is in its own little world surrounding by modern-day apartments. its the coolest thing!

well, at this point the wind had finally reached our souls and we were frigid. i had forgot my gloves that day and all i wanted to do was soak them in a bowl of soup. we decided to go to mozart's cafe for just that and man was it good! i ordered goulosh soup and it was the best thing ever. warmed me through and through. it also had the longest chili pepper in it i had ever seen! mozart's cafe ended up being me, alexa, and teancum so we decided to split a dessert. we got a cheesecake type thing covered in raspberries and strawberries. IT WAS SO GOOD. after lunch me and alexa came to my house and did "homework." ok, not really at first but then we decided we had to get it done. after finally accomplishing something we were hungry and went to alexa's part of town for some pizza. it was the best pizza i had ever had. it had ham, cheese, and tomatoes on it. and the crust was to die for. mm! it was a lot of fun and we had a really good time getting to know each other better and discussing our spring break plans.

:)

SUNDAY

well, sunday was quite lovely as well as relaxing. i leisurely got myself ready for church, had a nice breakfast, and read a little bit. (the upsides of 1:30pm church) i got to church, no problems. had nice meetings and they have a young single adults class taught by the cutest old man with the cutest german accent! then sacrament meeting came. it started as it normally does, but something didn't seem right. and then i realized i really needed to use the bathroom! just my like i was smack dab in the middle of our pew. so during the rest hymn, i shimmied passed the small family sitting on my left and made my escape for the WC. i started back up the stairs for the chapel, in a hurry to make it back before the hymn was over, and my boot gets caught the stair and i fall, flat on my face!!! right up the stairs. it kind of sounded like when you shake a mat thats been on the floor and drop it back in its spot and it makes that 'slap' sound, you know the one? i hurried and stood up and rushed back to the chapel, trying not to glance back to see it anyone had seen. i think i was clear!

so embarrassing.

***

well, after church me, paige and aly decided to go to the ballet! they played la sylphide which i had never heard of before but it was spectacular!  

me.paige&aly

just a glimpse of the opera house. 

breathtaking?

we get to go on a tour on wednesday and i cannot wait to learn the history!

alright, so let me tell you how the opera house works. they have seats throughout the theater you can pay €70+ for. OR they have 'standing room' tickets that are €3! so of course that's the route we take. here's the process:

we got there around 5pm. you go inside the opera house and wait in a roped off line with other people seeking the same seats as you. after about an hour and a half/two hours they open the doors that lead to another room and line. another 15 minutes and they let you through to buy your tickets! after that you are guided to a staircase where you wait some more until the police men clear the building of all hazards. after that you're turned loose! there are 3 rows with velvet arm rests lining the tops and metal bars separating each standing space. once you get to your spot you take your scarf and tie it around your desired seat and that's it: your guaranteed spot! once that's done you leave to check your coats and wander the halls of the opera house. no one moves it or steals your spot while you're gone, and if they do the people around get really mad and kick them out! isn't that great??

i love vienna

:)